kim herman

performer | photographer | filmmaker

Hello! I am Kim Herman, a Dutch photographer & performer based in Amsterdam.

I bring the inside out.

What can I do for you?

I can make you shineAre you a performer in need of casting or portfolio pictures? Are you an entrepreneur and do you want to give others a professional impression of your authentic self on your website or social media? Or do you want to treat yourself or a loved one with a photoshoot gift? As a photographer, I make you aware of your beauty. Wether you’re feeling non-photogenic or insecure, my goal is to make you look at your own picture and go: Wow, this is me! Examples of my portrait photographs can be found under ‘A selection of my work’ at the bottom of this page under the tab ‘Photography’.

Are you organising a party and want to capture the vibes in a series of pictures? At parties and special events people can get in a state of total freedom. They may forget about what others think of them for a while, and enjoy life to the fullest. I love capturing people with my camera in that pure state of being. Check out some examples of party pictures under ‘A selection of my work’ at the bottom of this page, choose the tab ‘Photography’. Or find more on my Flickr page.

I can take you inside a storyImagine one of your team members has to deal with a violent customer, victim of abuse or sexual assaulter. Or your student has to face the loss of a loved one. It could also be that you have an employee who is being confronted with discrimination because of gender/sexual preference or religious/non-religious convictions. As a training actor, I visualise feelings, emotions and taboo subjects that might be difficult to deal with in real life. I facilitate open communication and turn the issue into a subject to talk about, by playing the role of ‘the other’. This way, you can practice difficult life situations in a safe environment. So it will become easier for you to deal with the real people when you are facing them. I work together with professional trainers who guide this process along with me.

As a performer, I invite you as my audience to open up to my story and experience how this may stretch your mind. A performance can be an independent production in a public theatre that you can visit, or by request at a location of your choice with your own selected audience. This can be for example a play about a topic you would like to introduce into your team or group of students with a conversation about the topic afterwards. Taking a play as a starting point for a discussion can make it easier for people to open up about it. Depending on your needs, I can select a team of co-actors and a director to construct the play in a way that works optimally for your situation. You can find my on stage portfolio under ‘A selection of my work’ at the bottom of this page under the tabs ‘Performer pics’ and ‘Performer videos’.

I can model for your product or companyThe process of positioning my body and expressing myself exactly the way you like it for showcasing your creations, is something I enjoy a lot. If you are looking for a model for your photoshoot or commercial, please find my portfolio under ‘A selection of my work’ at the bottom of this page under the tab ‘Modelling’.

What am I passionate about?

Reconnecting with positive feelingsMy belief is that feeling happy, loved and beautiful is the natural state of being in which everyone is born into this world. Yes, you too! I also notice that our society constantly challenges us, and we tend to put up fences between ourselves and this positive state of being. But despite those fences, I see that people – including myself – will always search for happiness and love in their private and professional lives.

In my work I focus on enabling you to reconnect with these positive feelings and emotions within you. This way, you can use your internal source of joy to experience more happiness and love in every level of your life. By working with themes or approaches that might be new to you, I help you to open up to the unknown and make it easier and more fun to explore hidden parts of yourself and those of other people.

Making eyes meet hearts
Our eyes can see what our hearts can feel. I visualise what’s going on inside, for you to be able to look at. So you can use your heart to connect with yourself and others, and share what you have seen. When our hearts start beating passionately about something and we share that passion, that’s when things start to move.

Giving space to discomfort and differencesI have a curiosity for so called taboo topics that tend to make us feel uncomfortable or that we find hard to talk about: Like the naked body, sex and sexuality, gender, cultural and religious differences, violence and abuse, loneliness, loss, depression and mourning. These topics are a part of life, whether we like it or not. By making them visible, I believe we can contribute to making them easier to talk about and to deal with. Speaking up leads to connection and can make us feel how united we are in our differences.

I am excited about people who don’t fit into what we are taught to consider as the cultural norm: The weird, eccentric, queer, outsider, free-spirited, twisted or freaky. Those people can cause discomfort, but it’s often also them who shake up things and stimulate others to look beyond their comfort zone. And that is where the magic happens.

However, not everyone is visibly ‘different’ or’ struggling’ with complicated situations. I think a lot of people find something hard to deal with or feel like they don’t fit in somehow, even if they appear to do so on the outside. They look normal, have normal jobs, normal families or normal relationships with other people. Struggling or feeling different is something many of us experience in some way or another, even if it can’t be seen. So, if you can relate to any of this, I’m here for you. Please find my contacts at the bottom of this page. Oh, and you might happen to bump into the name Fair Film when you take a look around, that’s the name of my former business!

So what happened to the filmmaker?
I have a background in filmmaking. Gradually, my focus of interest has shifted from making film to taking pictures and performing. Luckily my experiences in directing, producing, filming and editing benefit my work as a photographer and performer. And sometimes I can even integrate film into my current work. My film showreel can be found under ‘A selection of my work’ at the bottom of this page.

what others say

It is a sheer pleasure to work with Kim! Her sharp mind and strong work ethics are accompanied by the capacity to see things that are often overlooked. This resulted in a set of beautiful party photo's - stunning and crisp.
Kim's lights up when she can work with instead of for people. Therefore, she embodies the true essence of a co-creator.

Sanna Vissercreative director @ Origami Music Collective

I had the privilege of directing Kim twice, first in the movement piece ‘H814’, secondly in the performance art piece 'Une coupe pour la liberté - A cut to freedom'. Kim searches for boundaries, dares to literally and figuratively expose herself and doesn’t fear to show her most vulnerable side. She has eye for detail, and offers a stream of ideas and proposals in rehearsals. She strives to keep improving until both herself as well as the people she works with are most happy with the result.

I admire Kim for her honesty and straightforwardness. Her philosophical look on life and her strong analytical ability make that Kim fathoms and lives what she plays. She has a beautiful authentic appearance. It was an honour to work with you special person!

Mehdi Sadouiouitheatre director

The small significant moments that make a difference, are the ones that Kim knows how to capture greatly. She finds the specific detail that is the essence of a story, whether it’s in a play or in a casting picture. True and pure.

I enjoy working with Kim because of her capacity to think along, to be silently present when the situation asks for it and to deliver the most beautiful high quality photographs.

I’ve gotten to know Kim as an enthusiastic co-thinker who, guided by her broad professional knowledge, has been capable of capturing the dynamics and diversity of our festival in a creative after movie.

After a short briefing, Kim has worked independently at location, while continuously keeping the wishes of the client in mind. The communication was bright and clear, both during the shoot as well as the editing process. We are very satisfied with the result and the collaboration with Kim.